AASA Releases Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) Survey Report

Today, your Advocacy team released the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) Survey Report. Our policy analyst, Tara Thomas spearheaded this work.

Key Findings

• More than half (56%) of respondents used REAP funding for purchasing technology, devices and software.
• More than one-quarter (27%) of respondents used REAP funding for professional development for teachers and staff.
• One fifth of respondents (20%) use REAP funding to invest in greater staff compensation and expand curricular offerings (STEM courses, art education, etc.)
• District leaders were least likely to dedicate REAP funding to resources for their school libraries, supports for English learners/migrant students and activities designed to increase access to high-quality advanced coursework. (One explanation for the low percentage for support for English Language Learners (ELL) could be that participating districts don’t have a large population of ELLs and therefore these investments are not necessary.

Check out the report and the press release. You can also check out the latest PEP Talk episode here about the report featuring the author and our policy analyst, Tara Thomas.